Operating in accordance with the principles of Industry 4.0 means making your company more efficient, safer, and more responsive to market needs and customer demands.
Like many types of industrial plants, waste treatment and recycling plants can also benefit from the installation of machinery equipped with IoT (Internet of Things) technologies that improve their performance, achieve more satisfactory results in terms of quality, and reduce risks for operators and the environment. These applications can then be further extended to involve Artificial Intelligence and advanced robotics, integrating the 4.0 paradigm with Industry 5.0 solutions.
This is how the use of next-generation tools improves plant operations and enables machinery to always operate at their best.
What is Industry 4.0 and what advantages does it guarantee
Industry 4.0 is a production and business management model based on the interconnection between different machinery and devices available to companies (IoT), the ability to control their activities remotely, and the collection of data and information related to machine operation, used to increase the efficiency of individual processes and to promote the automation of activities.
By exploiting the potential of digital and connecting tools to the Internet, it is possible to enable various devices to communicate with each other, have better control over production, make process execution more efficient, and facilitate quality control activities, maintenance, and resolution of any issues or malfunctions. This allows for:
- Improving company efficiency by monitoring and optimizing individual activities and the production process as a whole
- Improving the quality of finished products, reducing waste, and always ensuring the achievement of expected standards
- Reducing unforeseen events and downtime of machine activities
- Increasing plant safety and reducing the number of accidents
- Developing strategies for continuous improvement through the analysis of process data collected from network-connected machines.
Alongside Industry 4.0, new technological solutions called “Industry 5.0” are now available, which leverage the potential of artificial intelligence and big data to promote a better integration between humans and machines equipped with intelligent systems. Industry 5.0, therefore, does not surpass or replace 4.0 technologies but integrates with them, allowing for even more satisfactory results in terms of quality and meeting operator needs.
Industry 4.0 in the waste treatment sector
CAMEC recycling plants consist of a series of machinesdesigned in a customized way, working together to correctly differentiate and treat different types of waste. Such plants can undoubtedly benefit from the advantages provided by network connectivity and remote control, and this is why CAMEC has chosen to invest over the years in digital innovation, equipping its machines with:
- Intuitive and easy-to-use human-machine interfaces, simplifying operator activities and reducing errors
- Tools for control via CNC and PLC, promoting the automation of individual processes
- Systems for interconnecting shredders with the plant's computer systems, allowing remote instruction loading and constant monitoring of machine activities, to quickly resolve any malfunctions and efficiently organize scheduled maintenance interventions.
Moreover, CAMEC machines ensure the achievement of the highest safety standards for operators and protection of the environment and human health, in line with Industry 4.0 principles that prioritize the environmental sustainability of industrial processes.
Industry 4.0: incentives for companies
Even in 2024, companies that choose to invest in the purchase of machinery and intangible assets that fall within the cases provided by the National Industry 4.0 Plan (specified respectively in Annexes A and B of Law No. 232/2016) can enjoy special tax benefits, particularly a tax credit equal to 20% of the expenditure for investments up to €2.5 million (the rate drops to 10% for investments up to €10 million, and to 5% for investments up to €20 million). This tax credit can be used for offsetting and is divided into three equal installments, the first of which can be enjoyed in the same year the machinery is put into operation, and can be combined with any other incentives to which one is entitled for the purchase of the same assets.
The law states that companies are entitled to tax credit for the purchase of “machine tools for de-production and repackaging to recover materials and functions from industrial waste and end-of-life return products (e.g., machines for disassembly, separation, crushing, chemical recovery)”, a category that includes most of the plants produced and put into operation by CAMEC. However, machines intended for landfill disposal and those intended for energy recovery are excluded from the incentives provided by the National Industry 4.0 Plan: to know in detail which solutions proposed by CAMEC allow for the benefits provided by law, you can take advantage of our technicians' consultation.
To learn more about CAMEC plant performance, access to tax incentives, and remote control of our machines, contact our team!